Zencrack Standard and Professional

Standard version

This version is ideal for parametric studies of different crack sizes and calculation of stress intensity factors, G and J for those cracks.

Multiple cracks¹ may be inserted into the user's uncracked f.e. mesh using Zencrack's crack-block methodology with both "standard" and "large" crack-block options. The initial crack shape may be fully controlled by the user with algorithms to minimise element distortion within the crack region and the surrounding mesh.

The remeshing method allows inclusion of a single elliptic or straight crack front. The elliptic crack may be surface-breaking or embedded.

The f.e. analysis may be linear or non-linear. The submission of the cracked mesh to the finite element code and processing of the results of the finite element analysis is completely automatic. Output includes tables of crack opening displacement, stress intensity factor, and G or J along the crack front. This version does not include any crack growth capability but is suited, for example, to analysis of one-off cracks, parametric crack size studies and code assessment work (e.g. failure assessment diagrams according to API579, R6, etc.).

Professional version

This version provides all of the capabilities of the Standard version for analysis of one-off crack sizes plus the options to analyse fatigue, time dependent or combined fatigue and time dependent crack growth. These crack growth options cater for non-planar growth and incorporate methods for allowing defects to grow through a mesh. Crack growth data may be supplied in a variety of forms from Paris equation through to a completely general user subroutine. Threshold and fracture criteria can also be specified. Fatigue loading may be constant amplitude, spectrum or general time dependent thermo-mechanical loading.

Additional information

The Zencrack GUI has the same capabilities for Standard and Professional licenses.

The capabilities of each finite element interface are the same in the Standard and Professional versions. There are, however, some small differences in capability between the available finite element interfaces. More information on the interfaces is available here.

Each copy of Zencrack may be licensed with one or more finite element interfaces.

An evaluation version of Zencrack Professional is available from the Downloads section. This includes all the capabilities of Zencrack Standard.

1. Multiple cracks are supported with the crack-block meshing approach. The remeshing method introduced in version 9 currently allows one crack front in a mesh.